Related Articles

Then along came wild child and retail baron Mark Foy, a Gatsby-esque kind of guy (although this was slightly earlier than the time of Fitzgerald's novel) who is said to have owned the largest fleet of motor vehicles in Australia.

He purchased the site in 1902 to create a hydropathic sanatorium and shipped in from Chicago the bones of what was to become the familiar lantern-shaped dome of the casino.

Advertisement

Such was his influence that he successfully petitioned the NSW government to change the name of the area to Medlow Bath.

"People have a romantic vision of this building," said Reeve. "I think part of our job in bringing it back to life is to enhance the romance and to not contradict history, and not to make it fake, but certainly to make it as glamorous and desirable as possible."

The casino, with its original stained glass, has been returned to its monochrome origins, with intensely patterned Edwardian carpets and an imposing chandelier.

Most of the furniture was sold off in the 1960s and '80s and much was also lost in fires - but there are still a few chairs with "property of Mark Foy" inscribed on their underside and a number of imposing Edwardian sofas.

Adjacent is The Wintergarden, with spectacular views of the Megalong Valley, which Reeve describes as being designed in 1930s streamlined modern style - the end of the deco and the beginning of the modern era.

The room that best sums up the mood of the time is known as Cat's Alley, featuring Zimmerman paintings and drapes trimmed with peacock feathers.

"People would have to travel from the accommodation wing at the far end of the site all the way to the ballroom for dinner," Reeve said.

"The husbands would sit there smoking cigars and playing billiards and the women would sit in this alley and bitch about everybody who walked past. About if they had the latest dress on or whether they couldn't afford a new dress, or if that was really their husband," he said.

"Our idea was to go back to this magical, crowded lounge space, where you could have a cup of tea, or a gin, or absinthe, if you felt like it."

Jennifer Hill, a heritage architect who is president of the Art Deco Society of NSW, said: "What you have got to recognise is that places have to change. The reason places go into decline is because they haven't kept up with the times – but keeping up with the times doesn't mean losing the whole image of the place.

"The Hydro Majestic is extremely important because of what it is: a sanitorium-type hotel, it's the best of the ones that were done, the grandest. What you want is a situation where people come to this building and it exudes all the qualities that it had in the past, which may not mean that it has all of the original fabric. If you are able to re-image this building as a 2014 spa, 110 years later, then I think that's a fantastic outcome."

Owners Huong Nguyen and George Saad are said to have paid $11 million for the property and have spent $30 million on the refurbishment.

But Ms Nguyen has even bigger ideas for the future of the Hydro Majestic - and she also gave an insight into the challenges of dealing with planning and heritage bodies.

"It is exciting," she said of the project. "It is also the end of a very long chapter.

"I think we would love to see less red tape when you have got such a significant tourism investment in the region, definitely. I think something needs to be looked at in terms of - not so much incentives, but encouragement for more projects of this nature, otherwise we won't be able to see iconic buildings and heritage richness such as the Hydro brought back to life.

"Besides all the actual venues, that's only the hardware. The program of entertainment and of experiences that we are looking forward to bringing for day tourists, as well as the overnight tourism, will be very exciting and we look forward to unrolling that in the next few months.

Ms Nguyen said well-known artists would perform at the Hydro, "and that will provide what has been lacking in the Blue Mountains".

"We are known as a nature-based tourist destination. A lot of the feedback we have been getting from tourist operators as well as tourists - particularly international tourists - is that we do lack the entertainment and attractions that keep them overnight.

"Good, solid Australian artists will be performing at the Hydro. It will be interesting, varied and certainly not boring."